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If you're a retro game fan who cares about obeying the letter of the law, emulation is a veritable minefield. While the emulators themselves are generally accepted as perfectly legal, downloading copyrighted ROMs generally isn't OK, no matter what your cousin told you about a "24-hour trial period" exemption or abandoned copyrights. Some players try to limit their ROM downloads to fair use "backups" of cartridges they already legally own, but even this is a bit legally questionable if you're downloading someone else's (largely identical) copy of the game rather than copying the physical cartridge you actually own (though it's hard to find much actual case law dealing with this wrinkle of digital game archiving).

This is all a shame for the law-abiding retro game fan, because emulation is a pretty great way to enjoy the games of your youth. Not only do you get to enjoy these games on a big monitor, but you get extra features like save states, slow/fast motion, video and input recording, visual filters, and more to enhance the experience. What's more, those physical cartridges won't last forever, and digital ROM files are a much more robust way to ensure that your classic games will last well into the future.

That's where the Retrode comes in. This elegant, tiny USB device (barely bigger than a couple decks of playing cards) sports a flip-up lid that reveals exposed ports that fit standard Super NES and Genesis cartridges. Stick in the game, plug in the USB cord, and the Retrode appears as an external drive sporting an emulator-friendly ROM file that's ready to play on any PC or Mac computer (we didn't test the device with a Linux box, but the makers advertise Linux mounting as well).

It sometimes took a minute or two of cartridge blowing, USB jiggling, and resetting to get the ROM files to show up correctly and uncorrupted, which was a bit annoying. Eventually, though, I was able to see the ROMs for my entire game library, including complicated cartridges like the Super FX-equipped Star Fox. These ROM files could be dragged and dropped right to my hard drive for a secure back up (and to limit the amount of cartridge switching necessary), or could be played right from the Retrode, no file copying required. I even got the Retrode drive to show up when I plugged it in to my Ouya, though I ran into some trouble getting the Android-based system to recognize the plugged-in controllers.

Yes, the Retrode is also useful for retro game fans who value the original controller hardware as an integral part of the game experience. The unit can support two standard SNES and Genesis controllers at the same time, converting them into USB inputs for your computer. All the PC emulators I tested detected these controllers just fine, though it sometimes took a bit of manual configuring to get all the buttons to work correctly.

The Retrode isn't just limited to Super NES and Genesis games, either. The makers sell adapter cartridges that allow you to plug in everything from Sega Master System to Nintendo 64 cartridges. We tried out the Nintendo 64 plug-in cart, which comes with built-in slots for two N64 controllers, and found it worked as advertised, though it seemed to have some trouble relaying the full sensitivity of the controllers' analog sticks and finding N64 save files (which won't be accessible for N64 games until a future firmware update).

Aside from the legal considerations, using the Retrode rather than a downloaded copy of the same game (which, let's face it, will be largely identical) is useful for one major reason: save files. I was a bit shocked to see that the Retrode detected the saved time trial records on my copy of Super Punch-Out! that were first set nearly two decades ago. The battery-powered SRAM chips storing all that game progress are probably reaching the limits of their life cycle these days, so making a digital backup is the best way to secure those memories for all time.

Enlarge/ Closed up, the Retrode is barely bigger than the SNES cartridges it supports.

Of course, you can also access those save files on the original hardware if you happen to have it around. But besides the gameplay advantages, playing your old cartridges on an emulator offers a lot of aesthetic advantages as well. Anyone who has tried plugging an old console into a modern HDTV knows the output meant for an old-fashioned cathode-ray tube doesn't always look right on modern hardware. Emulators offer a number of filters to recreate that classic look and feel.

Enlarge/ Rendered with HD texture packs on an emulator, Ocarina of Time is like a brand new game.

The effect is even more dramatic when emulating Nintendo 64 games, where polygon edges and lighting effects are rendered much sharper and brighter thanks to the advanced hardware in today's PCs. For some Nintendo 64 games, there are also redone, high-resolution texture packs available that redraw every bit of scenery and clothing in vibrant new detail. Playing an old N64 cartridge with one of these packs is like enjoying a free HD remake for a game you probably haven't played in years.

Are all these benefits worth the Retrode's €65 asking price (about $86) before the add-on adapters? It's a tough call. If you're looking for a way to legally back up your entire retro gaming collection for posterity, save files included, it's a bargain. If you just want to play your old cartridges a couple more times for old times' sake, you might be better off digging out the original hardware and a cheap CRT television.

The Good

Provides a completely legal way to back up old game cartridges for emulation

Save files from decades past work great

Sleek, compact design

Simple plug-and-play USB functionality

Plug-in adapters for other systems expand the usefulness

The Bad

Requires a lot of blowing/jiggling to get the ROMs to show up sometimes

Price is a bit high for the functionality

The Ugly

These ROMs are legal, even though they're identical to illegal ones you could find elsewhere

Verdict: Buy it if you're in the market for an easy game cartridge backup solution.

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Kyle Orland
Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in the Washington, DC area. Emailkyle.orland@arstechnica.com//Twitter@KyleOrl